Seishi Sugar Shock
by Quicksilver
Summary: Co-written with the imouto Lyra Stormrider.... one of the ODDEST FY fics out there- 14 seishi, two mikos and a candy warehouse. You do the math.


Seishi Sugar Shock  
by Lyra Stormrider and Quicksilver  
arashi_no_hime@hotmail.com  
mbsilvana@yahoo.com  
None of these characters belong to us, though Lyra would like Hotohori and Quicksilver would like Chiriko so she could do her homework.   
This is a Xmas present to Moonsong-neesan, with much love. Hope it makes you laugh.  
Author's Note: This borrows the basic idea (characters in a candy factory) from Jaelle and Orla's CANDY CANDY GUNDAM WING. If you're a GW fan, it's absolutely hysterical. Seishi Sugar Shock is a TWT (Timeline? What Timeline?) piece for FY.  
  
  
~~~  
  
  
Hotohori woke with a groan, a slim hand raised to his forehead. //What....happened? The last thing I remember is....eating that bizarre food....Miaka gave me...// he slowly thought. Blinking, he looked around, not recognizing his surroundings. "Where is everyone? Miaka? Tamahome?"  
  
Staggering to his feet, Hotohori began to search the room he was in, to see if any of the others were there.  
  
He turned to his right, trying to see into the shadows, only to feel something attach to his side like a little leech. "Hotohori-sama!" the voice wailed. "Nuriko kowaii!"  
  
Hotohori looked down at his brother Seishi, trying not to sigh. Nuriko's grip was as firm as a rock; the beautiful cross-dresser wasn't letting go anytime soon. "Daijoubu, Nuriko," he said, sighing a little to himself.  
  
After standing still for a few moments, Hotohori turned his attention back to the room. "Well, Nuriko, shall we see if any of the others are in here?" he murmured, trying to walk with the purple-haired man attached to his waist.  
  
Nuriko sniffled a little, not really wanting to move from where he was. Even though he was frightened, at least he had a nice hold on Hotohori. //I should thank whoever brought us here for this....// Looking up, he saw Hotohori was till waiting for his answer. "Ano...hai, heika-sama."  
  
A THUMP came from their side, and Nuriko used it as an excuse to literally jump up into Hotohori's arms, wrapping his body around the tall emperor. "What was that?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know," Hotohori said, trying to breathe. "I can't get any air with you holding onto me so tight," he complained.  
  
Nuriko blinked at Hotohori with wide violet eyes, an innocent expression on his face. "Ah, gomen." he murmured, loosening his hold on Hotohori's neck. He glanced behind them, more than a little frightened of what might be there.  
  
Stepping out from the shadows, Tasuki flashed his fanged grin at Nuriko and Hotohori. "Scared ya, didn't I?" he laughed.  
  
Nuriko's fist was moving even as Tasuki was finishing his sentence, sending him sailing into a nearby wall. The bandit bounced off it and miraculously ended up at Hotohori's feet. "Tasuki-chan no BAKA!" Nuriko said. "You scared the life out of me!"  
  
Hotohori, though, was more practical. "Do you have any idea where we are, Tasuki?" he asked in his regal voice. Nuriko continue to keep an arm around Hotohori's waist, not letting this chance slip away.  
  
Tasuki stood, shaking his head, partly to answer Hotohori's question and partly to clear the ringing in it from Nuriko's blow. "Nope. I came to feeling like I had spent a great night drinking and having fun!" he laughed again, fangs flashing. "You two are the first ones I've run into. Though....I did find this..." The bandit held out a rectangular, foil-wrapped object.   
  
Hotohori arched his eyebrow, reaching out to take it from Tasuki. Turning it in his hand slowly, he slowly raised it to his nose and sniffed once. "It smells like...that...choc-o-late...Miaka gave us all yesterday..." he murmured.  
  
Nuriko's eyes glowed, and he snatched it away. With careful fingers he unwrapped the shiny silver paper. "It IS!" he squealed, breaking off a piece and biting into it. He rolled his eyes upwards in delight.  
  
Tasuki protested. "That's MINE! I'M the one who found it."  
  
Nuriko just stuck out his tongue. "Want some, heika-sama?" he cooed.  
  
Hotohori blinked at the sugary-sweet voice of Nuriko. "Just a small piece....and Nuriko, you should share it with Tasuki...since he did find it."  
  
Nuriko pouted a bit while breaking off a piece for Hotohori. "Well...I guess I'll be nice and give you some, Tasuki." he finally sighed, breaking off a small portion and handing it to the bandit.  
  
Tasuki looked at the small piece he held, and then back to the large chunk of chocolate in Nuriko's hand, and started to spew foul language.  
  
Nuriko smiled serenely, then slowly licked the piece he still held, both front and back. "Did you want some more, Tasuki-chan?" he asked with feigned concern.  
  
Scowling, Tasuki glared at Nuriko. "Not anymore." he snarled, popping the piece he held into his mouth and crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
Hotohori rolled his eyes heavenward, sighing quietly. //Suzaku-sama, please give me strength to deal with them..// Looking back at his brother seishi, he frowned slightly. "If the three of us are here....then it makes sense to assume the others are, too. Shall we keep looking for them?"  
  
"Of course! If this is the afterlife, I refuse to spend it watching the cross-dresser drool over you!" Tasuki said snappishly, turning and stalking away.  
  
"Matte!" Nuriko said, forgetting about his teasing. "We shouldn't split up!" He started to drag his beloved Emperor off in the direction Tasuki had gone, and Hotohori started to wonder when he had lost control of his life. HE was the Emperor, dammit. HE was the one who was supposed to be leading.  
  
Tasuki finally stopped, in front of a large door. "Well, looks like I found the way out." he said smugly, polishing his nails on his jacket while flashing a grin at Nuriko and Hotohori.  
  
Hotohori sighed again, counting to ten in his mind. "That's all very well, but we shouldn't split up, Tasuki. What if this is some type of trap set by the Seiryuu?" he advised, still trying to get his arm free from Nuriko's grasp.  
  
"Nuriko KOWAII!" the pretty seishi whimpered, refusing to relinquish his grip.  
  
"Well, we should at LEAST see where we are!" Tasuki argue, then frowned at door. "There aren't any handles- guess I'll have to burn our way out!"  
  
"No!" Nuriko and Hotohori chorused, but were too late.   
  
"Lekka Shi-EN!"  
  
Hotohori stared at the resulting hole in the door, liquefied metal slowly dripping down to the floor. "We're stuck in here...it seems. Since I doubt we could open that without burning ourselves badly."  
  
Tasuki blinked once at the mess he had created, then started to laugh nervously. "I..uh...don't think that was the best idea..."  
  
Nuriko glared at him, reaching out and slapping him into the wall once more. "Tasuki no baka! Now look what you've done! You've trapped us in here!"  
  
"Itai!" Tasuki yelled. "There's another door somewhere!" he suggested. "We just gotta find it!"  
  
Nuriko, though, was having none of that. Releasing a relieved Hotohori, he started cracking his knuckles as he walked menacingly towards the bandit, intent on turning him into a pretzel.  
  
Tasuki began to back up, his amber gaze darting around the room. "Hey, look! Over there! I just saw Tama-neko!" he exclaimed, quickly running toward the shadowy corner.  
  
Hotohori looked surprised at Tasuki's yell. Turning to Nuriko, he shrugged silently and followed the red-head over to where he thought he had seen Mitsukake's cat.  
  
Of course, Tasuki was lying through his teeth. He hadn't seen the little cat anymore then he had seen Suzaku himself. He had hoped to avoid another beating by Nuriko (always a painful proposition) but the reward wasn't worth the cost. Tama-neko wasn't there- but someone else was.  
  
A boy lay on the floor, his blonde-green hair falling in his face. Tasuki came to an abrupt stop. "Kuso," he muttered. "We got problems."  
  
Hotohori stopped where he was, seeing that Tasuki had stopped as well. "What is it, Tasuki?" he called. The bandit was acting very strangely if it was Tama-neko he had found.  
  
Nuriko cracked his knuckles again. "You're just trying to get out of that beating I promised you...aren't you?" he said to his brother seishi, an intense look in his violet eyes. "Not this time, Tasuki..."  
  
"Uh-ohm" Tasuki said, watching as the blue-violet eyes started to flutter open. "Nuriko, I advise you back up and cover your ears," he said, taking his own advise. He had no clue which one of the twins this was (never could tell them apart in the first place), but it didn't really matter much in the long run. Amiboshi would be preferable slightly, but only SLIGHTLY.  
  
The boy on the floor groaned and sat up, clenching his head in pain. "Koko wa doko da?" he murmured.  
  
Hotohori jerked upon hearing the voice. That certainly was none of the Suzaku seishi. "Ano...the Seiryuu must be here..." he whispered to Nuriko.  
  
Nuriko frowned intensely, his violet eyes full of concern for his miko and other brother seishi. "What are we going to do?"  
  
Nuriko's question didn't have time to get answer, for at that moment, the Seiryuu locked eyes with the red-head. "YOU!" he snarled, and if the look in his eyes didn't convince them of his identity, his whirling ryuuseisei did.  
  
"Oh, great," Nuriko muttered. "WE WOULD have to find the crazy twin."  
  
"Damn!" Tasuki cried, jumping back from the widening arc of the ryuuseisei. "What kind of weapon are f%@$#ing yo-yo's anyways?" Pulling out his tessen, the bandit swung it toward the blonde boy's weapon. "Lekka...SHINEN!!!!" he yelled.  
  
Hotohori's eyes widened and he looked from Tasuki to Suboshi and back again. He knew that they would probably have to work together to find everyone, but could they get the Seiryuu warrior to trust them enough to do that?  
  
Obviously not, were what Suboshi's actions said. The fifteen year old's eyes narrowed, and the ryuuseisei went spinning at Tasuki as the flames came near the boy. Suboshi agilely got the HELL away from the blaze, but forgot to look behind him.  
  
Hotohori's eyes widened as he watched the flames from Tasuki's tessen hit a vat behind the blonde Seiryuu warrior. As the liquid inside spewed forth onto the floor and rushed towards them. "Run!"  
  
Nuriko let out a high pitched shriek and took off for the opposite of the room, Tasuki right behind him.  
  
Suboshi, though, had ignored the warning, and hadn't moved at all. When Tasuki glanced back, he saw the boy just about to land in the mess the vat had released. True, the stuff wasn't molten, but it would be an unpleasant trip. With a sigh, his conscience kicked in, and he darted back, using his speed to catch the boy before he could hit the mess.  
  
Suboshi was having none of it. He kicked out, throwing Tasuki off balance, and both of them tumbled to the ground.  
  
Hotohori paused, moving over to help Tasuki and Suboshi, but unfortunately, just as he pulled the bandit to his feet, the stuff from the vat flowed around them. "This is....sticky. Kami-sama! My hair! This is going to ruin my beautiful hair!!!"  
  
Tasuki blinked, still a little stunned from his crash to the floor. "What the @%#$ is this stuff?!"  
  
Suboshi wailed. "Suzaku BASTARD!" trying to stand up. Unfortunately, he was the most thoroughly covered, and he stuck to the floor like a fly to flypaper.  
  
Nuriko came back cautiously, noticing Hotohori's dilemma. "Daijoubu?" he asked tentatively, trying not to laugh. He was the only one who had escaped unscathed....  
  
"My hair!!!!" Hotohori wailed, all dignity gone as he attempted to keep his hair from getting covered by the sticky substance. "Nuriko, help me!"  
  
Tasuki growled at Suboshi, swinging at him. "This is all your @^$&# fault, you know? If it wasn't for you none of us would be covered in this goo!"  
  
"YOU were the one who melted it!" Suboshi protested, squirming and trying to get up, but only succeeding in getting more tangled up.  
  
Nuriko stepped up to Hotohori and cautiously picked up the emperor's now matted hair. "Um, maybe Chichiri would be able to magic it better? Or Mits could Heal it?" he suggested.  
  
Hotohori finally gave into his first instinct and that was to start weeping about his hair. Clinging to Nuriko, he cried on his brother seishi's shoulder. "My hair is ruined! I'll never be able to go out in public again...."  
  
"Yeah, well, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have melted it, so it's still your fault!" Tasuki growled again, shaking his tessen in an effort to dislodge the sticky goo.   
  
Nuriko was in a state of pure bliss. Hotohori was VOLUNTARILY clinging to him, never mind the minor issue with the hair. He soothingly patted Hotohori's back, and was about to mutter words to match, when he was met by the sounds of laughter.  
  
Footsteps where approaching, and someone was having a conversation. There was a high voice, followed by a low feminine one, and Nuriko's eyes widened as he finally caught the end of a sentence. "... see, sexual energy can be obtain two ways- either by obtaining or by indulging- it's just how you look at it."  
  
"Really? So virgins DO have power?" That was the female voice.  
  
"Hai, they do, it's just different from the power non-virgins have." Chiriko confirmed, giggling as he popped another bon-bon into his mouth. He grinned up at Soi, looking as cute as could be.  
  
Tasuki's eyes rounded in shock to see Chiriko conversing easily with a member of the opposing side. "Chiriko? What the hell are you doing?" he blurted out.  
  
"Well, when I woke up, Soi was the first person I found. Since we were in a strange place, we agreed to help each other. We've been looking around for HOURS! Anyway, it seems like were in some kind of candy making place or something," he said.  
  
Soi nodded agreement, and look at the two trapped seishi. "My, how come I feel like Suboshi's temper had something to do with your predicament?" she asked with interest. "Arigatou," she said as Chiriko handed her some Hershey's Kisses. "Are you sure you don't want to serve Seiryuu? I'm sure Amiboshi wouldn't mind a permanent switch."  
  
Tasuki frowned again, glaring at Suboshi. "Because it did! Damned idiot just goes and attacks us....@^%$!!!!"  
  
Hotohori looked up, scrubbing at his eyes a little. He was hopeful that maybe their scholar would know something that would fix his hair. "Chiriko....my...my hair is ruined! Can you please help me figure out what to do?!" he cried.  
  
Chiriko, though, was considering Soi's offer with interest. "If I become Seiryuu, does that mean I get a cool power?"  
  
Soi shrugged. "I'm not sure."  
  
"Well, I'd better not," Chiriko said. "The Suzaku side needs me to do all their thinking," he said, giggling as he ate yet more chocolate.  
  
Soi sighed. "I thought you'd say that. How about looking me up when you're older? You have such pretty eyes...."  
  
Tasuki couldn't believe what he was hearing. Soi was flirting with Chiriko...and the boy was flirting back. "What the @%$#?!!" he yelled, heading off into yet another tirade about the injustice of finding Suboshi first.  
  
Hotohori gave a sorrowful sigh, picking at the sticky substance covering his hair. As a gob came off on his fingers, he sniffed it, and lightly tasted it. "This is....it's candy! I'm covered in candy!! This is not fair at all...."  
  
Nuriko's eyes lit up as Hotohori announced he was covered in candy. Certain hentai thoughts began to creep through his mind and he began to laugh softly.  
  
Hotohori looked at Nuriko, wounded. Then his eyes widened as Nuriko licked his lips. "Let me help you!" the pretty cross-dresser offered.  
  
Suboshi and Tasuki stopped fighting the gunk, and exchanged horrified glances. "We don't want to see this, do we?" Suboshi asked, suddenly in perfect accord with Tasuki. "Soi and Chiriko is REALLY bad, but I'm NOT watching two guys! It's not going to happen!"  
  
"No way, no how! I'm am not watching this! *@&^%!!!!" Tasuki yelled, trying to get Hotohori and Nuriko's attention. "Cut it out both of you! @&^#!!"  
  
Soi began to giggle at that, her hand on Chiriko's shoulder as she winked at Suboshi. "What'samatter, Suboshi-chan, afraid you'll learn something?"  
  
Hotohori blinked at Nuriko, stunned into silence. The look in the purple-haired man's eyes had him a bit scared.  
  
Nuriko smiled and stood on his tip toes, snaking his arms around the Emperor's neck. With an impish smile he nibble on a bit of candy that was on Hotohori's neck. "Mm.... sweet!"  
  
Suboshi and Tasuki were gagging to themselves, but Soi's expression grew thoughtful. With a sly grin, she stooped down and kissed a surprised Chiriko, who had been munching on a truffle.   
  
Hotohori's eyes were huge as Nuriko wrapped his arms around him. "N-nani?! What are you doing, Nuriko?" he asked, his heart pounding frantically.  
  
"Eww....gross!" Tasuki cried, making a face at Hotohori and Nuriko. Averting his eyes, he found himself staring at Soi and Chiriko. "Damn! She's cradle-robbing now! Why do I feel like such a @*&^ voyeur?!!"  
  
Chiriko started to blush, but found himself rather interested in spite of himself. Soi was an attractive woman, and getting his first kiss at thirteen was no small triumph in and of itself. Finally she released him, smiling slightly. "Make sure you look me up, Chiriko-chan."  
  
Nuriko nibbled his way up Hotohori's neck to his ear. "Helping you get this stuff off, of course," he said innocently.  
  
Tasuki's gaze swung back and forth between the two couples. "I don't wanna see this, I don't wanna see this...." he started chanting like a mantra.   
  
Suboshi was in complete agreement with that statement. "Get a room! All of you!!"  
  
A blush was creeping across Hotohori's cheeks as he stared at Nuriko. "Stop, onegai?" he said hoarsely, blinking his golden eyes.  
  
"Why should I?" Nuriko asked playfully.  
  
Suboshi looked at Tasuki, hoping to find at LEAST one other sane seishi. "Maybe if we work together we can get out of here?" he asked helplessly.   
  
Tasuki nodded his head frantically, keeping his eyes averted from Hotohori and Nuriko. "Hai. I just want the @#&$ outta here!"  
  
"Cause I asked you to?" Hotohori squeaked, his eyes huge as he stared at Nuriko. It didn't look like the purple-haired cross-dresser was going to stop.  
  
Soi and Chiriko grinned at each other, deciding that watching the Emperor squirm was rare entertainment. Soi sat on the ground, pulling the smart boy down beside her. The two started to eat Hershey's bars, playfully feeding each other tidbits and listening to Suboshi and Tasuki curse in unison.  
  
"But I'm HELPING you, heika-sama," Nuriko said. He started to nibble along the other side of Hotohori's face.  
  
"Really...that's okay, Nuriko....we...uh....uh, we need to...look for...the others...." Hotohori gasped out, still shocked at what Nuriko was doing.  
  
Tasuki looked up as he heard this. "Yeah! We need to find our mikos! We aren't being good seishi and stuff....if we don't try and find them!! Right, Suboshi?" the bandit said, looking to the blonde boy for agreement.  
  
Mentioning mikos to Suboshi was never a good idea, since he tended towards the insane side of obsessive. Soi knew this, and stifled a groan.   
  
"YUI-SAMA!" Suboshi exclaimed, and started to struggle anew. He managed to untangle himself and Tasuki almost at once, and they got to their feet, Tasuki yanking a pouting Nuriko off a relieved Hotohori.  
  
Chiriko blinked, looking over at Soi as he ate more of the chocolate. "Well, we do need to find Miaka and Yui....and hopefully the others, hai?"  
  
Hotohori took a deep breath, following Tasuki thankfully. He had been convinced that there was no way to get Nuriko off of him. "Where did you two come from?" he asked Chiriko and Soi.  
  
"That way!" they said, pointing off to the right. "Not much over there," Chiriko continue.  
  
"Except candy!" Soi laughed, and Chiriko started giggling with her, falling into her lap.  
  
"Stop it, you hentai!" Tasuki said. "He's thirteen!"  
  
"So?" asked Soi. "Mentally that's older then you, and I'll bet YOU aren't a virgin."  
  
Tasuki flashed his fangs at Soi, beginning to sulk at that insult. "Who asked you for commentary anyway?"  
  
Nuriko laughed at Tasuki, a smirk on his pretty face. "That's what you get for interrupting Hotohori-sama and I." he purred, sliding closer to the young emperor. Hotohori, seeing this, immediately moved so that Suboshi and Tasuki were between them.  
  
Suboshi looked around frantically, then took off towards the left. "Yui-sama!" he called, trying to find his miko.  
  
Soi bounced to her feet, pulling Chiriko up. "Kuso!" she swore. "After the baka! There's no telling what trouble he'll get into when he's like this!"  
  
Hotohori willingly followed Soi and Chiriko in search of Suboshi. He wanted to keep as much distance between him and Nuriko as possible.  
  
Tasuki looked once at the purple-haired seishi beside him, and seeing the look in Nuriko's eyes, he immediately took off after the rest. He had the feeling if he didn't, he was going to be pummeled.  
  
"Come back here you-" Nuriko started to call, then was cut off abruptly. "AHHHHHH!!! NURIKO KOWAII!" he yelled, then there was silence.  
  
Hotohori stopped, looked at Tasuki, then back to where they had left Nuriko. "You go back and help Nuriko. He'll try to jump me again if I do...."  
  
Tasuki grumbled a little about it, but finally went back in search of his friend. "Nuriko? Are you here? Come on, cut it out!"  
  
Then the other five Seishi heard Tasuki start to swear. Soi caught up to Suboshi and yanked him back. There was no point in getting separated. "Come ON!" she said, dragging him back."  
  
Suboshi's eyes widened and he tried to jerk away from Soi. "B-but....Yui-sama!!!!" he blubbered, tears starting to build in his eyes. "I want my Yui-sama!!!"  
  
Hotohori blinked at the Seiryuu seishi, quite astonished at this turn of events. He looked at the small group, and sighed. "Well, let us retrieve Nuriko and Tasuki, and then we will once again be on our way."  
  
"Who knows?" Chiriko asked chipperly. "Yui-sama might even be over there!"  
  
Hotohori decided that it would be counterproductive to point out that it was unlikely that Nuriko would be scared of the Seiryuu no miko. Suboshi was off and running, and they all saw him pull up. "It's just Ashitare," he said in disgust. "Along with the Suzaku who never talks."  
  
Hotohori arched his eyebrow at Nuriko, who was now clinging to Mitsukake's side. "Good to see you, Mitsukake." he murmured, a dry chuckle in his voice. He found it quite funny that Nuriko was clinging like a frightened child to the tall healer.  
  
"Nyaaooo!" Tama-neko made his demand for attention, jumping from Mitsukake's shoulder to Tasuki's and beginning to purr quite loudly in the bandit's ear.  
  
"Gettitoff!" he said, reaching up to yank the cat off. But you see, there was a slight problem with that maneuver. Tasuki was still covered in the sticky taffy and Tama-neko was.... well, Tama-neko was OBVIOUSLY a cat.   
  
"MRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" Tama-neko protested his fur clinging to the yellow-eyes seishi.  
  
Tasuki began to hop around in a frantic little dance, trying to get Tama-neko off of him. "DAMN IT!!!! @%#&$!!!" he roared, unhappy about being stuck to the cat.  
  
Soi couldn't take much more of this, and she started to laugh, softly at first. "That's so...so....funny!" she gasped out, before dissolving into laughter once more. The green-eyed woman hadn't had this much fun in quite some time.   
  
Chiriko looked at Tasuki, unable to think of anything to say aside from, "We're going to HAVE to figure out how to free hair from that candy," he said.  
  
Hotohori scowled at the reminder of his mess.  
  
Mitsukake, though, just ignored all of the chaos, and tossed something to Ashitare, which the wolf-man eagerly caught and ate.  
  
Nuriko began to pout that Hotohori wasn't paying any attention to him. After all, he did deserve to be worried about, after being left alone like that. "Hotohori-sama doesn't LOVE ME!!" he began to wail, sobbing on Mitsukake's shoulder.  
  
Hotohori, on the other hand, began to twitch as the purple-haired cross-dresser cried. When he noticed that everyone was looking at him, he chuckled weakly. "W-what? Why is everyone looking at me? I didn't do anything wrong....Nuriko is obviously in....uh....shock! That's it, he's in shock!"  
  
Soi stopped laughing, then glanced back and forth. A flush rose on her cheeks. She sympathized COMPLETELY with Nuriko, having been in something of a similar situation herself- loving someone who didn't love her. She couldn't do anything for HERSELF, but that didn't mean she couldn't help the effeminate Suzaku seishi.  
  
Hotohori reeled back from the slap Soi dealt him with confusion. Soi stood with her hands on her hips, glaring. "You go help him RIGHT NOW!" she snapped.  
  
"N-nani?" Hotohori said, blinking in shock. He was quite surprised that Soi had slapped him, and didn't know what to do. "How am I supposed to help him?"  
  
Nuriko looked up at this, sniffling a little. A Seiryuu seishi was helping him out? Well, if it would get Hotohori to hold him and comfort him, what did it matter? Soi would have his eternal gratitude if this worked.  
  
"Go over there, NOW!" She said, raising her hand threateningly.  
  
Chiriko blinked.  
  
Mitsukake tossed something at Ashitare.  
  
Tasuki continued to try to pry Tama-neko off.  
  
Hotohori sighed and awkwardly made his way over to Nuriko. He lightly patted the cross-dresser's shoulder. "It's okay, Nuriko. Don't cry, onegai?" He knew he sounded stilted and very awkward, but what could he do about it? Hotohori didn't think that way about Nuriko, and he knew he never would.  
  
Chiriko clapped as Mitsukake continued to throw things to Ashitare and the wolfman would catch it. "That's cool, Mitsukake! How did you teach him to do that?"  
  
"He likes jelly beans," he said, tosses a black one. "Except the white ones."  
  
Nuriko transferred his grip on the healer over to Hotohori, then cautiously peaked up. "You mean all I had to do was throw CANDY at him, and he would have been a good little doggie?!?!"  
  
Mitsukake nodded his head, throwing another jelly bean at Ashitare. "Jellybeans actually..." he murmured.  
  
Hotohori looked skyward and continued to pat Nuriko as he clung to him. //I don't like this, I don't like this...// he thought over and over again. "Ack, Nuriko....I can't breathe...."  
  
"Oh, gomen nasai." Nuriko smiled prettily, loosening his grip just slightly. "Is that better?"  
  
//It'd be better if you let me go// was Hotohori's thought, but he wisely said nothing. Soi was still watching him,. and he wondered about it. There HAD to be a reason why there was only one female among the seishi.  
  
Tasuki, though, managed to pry the cat loose finally, at the expense of some of Tama-neko's fur, and a long claw mark on his right hand. "@#!#@$#%#!" he swore.  
  
Tama-neko hissed at Tasuki, his back arched and his tail pointing skyward, before he finally climbed back onto Mitsukake's shoulder, beginning to lick his fur clean.  
  
Tasuki stuck his injured hand into his mouth and sucked on it a bit, glaring the whole time at Tama-neko.  
  
Suboshi crossed his arms in front of him, a frown on his face. "Come on! We have to go find Yui-sama!! What if she's hurt or injured or been captured or...." he trailed off as Soi clapped her hand over his mouth. "We get the picture, Suboshi."  
  
Mitsukake rose up, making sure to grab a HUGE bag of jellybeans to keep Ashitare happy. The healer ate all the white ones as he started to walk away. Suboshi took the lead, with Soi and Chiriko right behind him.  
  
"Oi! Mitsukake! Don't ya think ya should heal my hand, considering it's your CAT that did this?!" Tasuki yelled angrily.  
  
"Iiee!" Hotohori said. "He should Heal my hair! That was YOUR fault!"  
  
Tasuki smirked at Hotohori. "Well considering it's just CANDY, Nuriko can eat it off of you." Turning back to Mitsukake, he once again began to bug the healer.  
  
Hotohori's face turned crimson and only the fact that Nuriko was still clutching him tightly kept him from throttling the bandit.  
  
Mitsukake tossed another jellybean for Ashitare before looking at Tasuki. "Iiee, what if Miaka is badly injured? If I heal you, I would be unable to heal her injuries...and the miko takes precedence over all seishi."  
  
Tasuki blinked, that was one of the longest things he had ever heard Mitsukake say. "Uhh..."  
  
Nuriko smiled. "But he DID have a good idea," he said, again preparing to have a little snack on Hotohori.... literally.  
  
"I was joking!" Tasuki said, not wanting to watch.  
  
"Nuriko, that is NOT appropriate behavior!" Hotohori protested.   
  
Soi look at them, grabbed a bon bon and smeared it over Chiriko's noise. He looked at her with wounded eyes, but she quickly bent down and licked it off. "I see nothing wrong with it," she said calmly.  
  
Hotohori was about to have a fit. "Nuriko, I have let you clutch me, I've patted your back and said soothing things, but I am NOT letting you lick this candy off of me!!"  
  
Ashitare whined a little, begging Mitsukake for another jellybean. He and the tall healer were ignoring the rest of the seishi for the moment.  
  
"Yui-sama!!!" Suboshi shrieked once again, grabbing hold of Nuriko's braid and beginning to pull him. He was becoming frantic about not being able to find his Yui-sama.  
  
The mixed group heard someone counting. "...234, 235, 236..." and Suboshi took off. Nuriko lost his hold on the emperor and was dragged after him.   
  
"That voice sounds familiar," Soi mused. Then her eyes brightened. "I guess it's the next best person to Yui," she said. "HE at least might be able to reason with the little obsessive."  
  
Hotohori was ecstatic to be free once more. Taking a deep gulp of air, he stretched.  
  
Chiriko blinked up at Soi, a questioning look on his kawaii face. "Who is it, Soi?" he asked, flashing her a cute grin.  
  
She looked down at her closest ally among the group, trying to figure out how to word it. "Well, YOU might have a problem with it..."  
  
They heard Suboshi's jubilant voice. "ANIKI!"  
  
The Suzaku scowled and hurried up to see an odd scene. Suboshi had a death grip on his brother, who was calmly licking a lollipop and counting.   
  
Hotohori blinked, taking in the sight of Nuriko sprawled on the ground and Suboshi hugging his brother tightly. "Um....what's going on?" he asked, looking around.  
  
Tasuki shrugged his shoulders, blinking at the boshi twins. "What the hell is he counting?" The bandit was still trying to pull pieces of taffy and cat fur off of himself.  
  
"...247.... 248.... 249," Amiboshi said, taking a lick after each count.  
  
"Weren't you the one who complained about finding the crazy twin?" Hotohori said, looking at Tasuki with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Nuriko pushed himself to his feet. "The damn kid was so excited that he managed to lift me off my feet while dragging me! When he saw his precious Aniki he let go," he griped, rubbing his side.  
  
Tasuki blinked at Hotohori, then grumbled softly. "Yeah, well, this one seems to have lost his marbles too. He's counting how many licks he's taking of that @%#*& lollipop!"  
  
"Aniki!" Suboshi repeated, burrowing his head into his brothers shoulder for a second like a little boy, then shaking his older brother. "We have to get going! Yui-sama is missing."  
  
Amiboshi frowned. "SHUN! You made me lose count!" He quickly ate the rest of the lollipop, and opened a new one. "One... two... three...."  
  
Hotohori gave the other seishi a wide-eyed look. disbelief on his face. "Ano...I don't think either of the twins is going to be of much help to us in this state..."  
  
Tasuki put his hands onto his hips, frowning at the Boshi twins. "Come on! Our #@*&$%* mikos are lost and we gotta find them! You can keep count of how many licks you take of that damned lollipop later!"  
  
Amiboshi frowned, got to his feet, and started to walk, making no attempt to dislodge his brother.  
  
"Well, at least that will calm Suboshi down," Soi said helpfully.  
  
Amiboshi ignored her while Tasuki seethed, wishing he was POSITIVE that his tessen would cancel out any lightening strikes she would make is he attacked her.  
  
Hotohori once again made sure to keep several of the seishi between himself and Nuriko. The Emperor was quite positive that he did NOT want to be glomped by him again.   
  
Suboshi, without saying anything to anyone, just dragged his twin off in the original direction he had been headed. "I'm sure Yui-sama is this way! Yui-sama, we're coming!!!" he cried out.  
  
Amiboshi just winced as Suboshi yelled right in his ear. He really wished he had had time to finish counting how many licks it took to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.  
  
All too soon, they heard the soft sounds of someone singing in a surprisingly pleasant voice. Glancing uneasily at the others, Nuriko took the lead. Maybe he could impress the Emperor with his courage, since his other method seemed to have hit a brick wall.  
  
"Who's there?" he called.  
  
"Yui-sama!" Suboshi said, de-glomping from his brother and launching himself into the darkness where the voice was coming. Silence reigned, then: "AHHHHHHHH!"  
  
Soi blinked into the darkness, then down at Chiriko and shrugged. "Hey, have any more of those Hershey's Kisses?" she asked softly.  
  
Tasuki tapped his tessen against his leg, looking around at the other seishi. "Why don't we send Ashitare after him?" he suggested after a moment.  
  
Mitsukake frowned. "Then I would have to go, since I'm keeping his jelly bean supply. It would be wiser if one of the warrior seishi went."  
  
"Did anyone EVER claim that I was wise?" Tasuki argued.  
  
"Maybe we should find out what happened to Suboshi-san soon," Chiriko suggested, looking at the dark look in Amiboshi's usually serene eyes.  
  
"MEN!" Soi said. "Come on, Chiriko-chan. We'll show them what courage is."  
  
Chiriko laughed and took her hand. "Hai, Soi-chan."  
  
Tasuki watched, his arms folded across his chest. "Why's that kid even hanging out with her?" he muttered, then cussed a little, his foot tapping on the floor.  
  
Hotohori was still trying to pick the taffy out of his hair. He sighed every time he pulled some out. //My poor hair....I wonder if it will ever be fine again....//  
  
Soi looked around, holding Chiriko's hand as they walked deeper into the darkness. "Suboshi? Where are you? Stop playing around!" she called out.  
  
She was just about to send out a short burst of lightning to illuminated matters (and punish Suboshi for ignoring her) when she heard it. "Kakakakaka..."   
  
"Oh, no," Soi groaned. "Those two in close proximity? I wonder which one will end up dead THIS time..."  
  
Chiriko looked up at Soi with a genki little smile. "I take it Tomo and Suboshi don't get along with each other." he chuckled. "Why don't you zap both of them with a little lightning?"  
  
Soi looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe I will do that....after we see what kind of mischief they are up to over there..."  
  
He smiled at her. She was so much FUN! Sometimes he wished that he wasn't one of the good guys- the bad guys got the cooler powers. "K!" he said, popping another piece of chocolate. "This is SOOOO GOOOOOOD."  
  
"When you're older, I'll show you something that's even better," Soi promised with a wink. "TOMO! SUBOSHI! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING??" she called at the top of her lungs. "NAKAGO-SAMA WILL NOT LIKE IT IF YOU KILL EACH OTHER!"  
  
They suddenly heard an excited squeal, then laughter. "Nakago-sama? Is he here? Where are you hiding him, Soi?" called Tomo.  
  
"Urrrk..." Suboshi gasped, trying to pry Tomo's arm off from around his neck. "Heeeeeeelp....."  
  
There's a connection between twins. There's no doubt about that. The connection between the boshi twins, though, was frighteningly strong. Suboshi's slight whisper somehow or other reached his older brother, who was still back with the other seishi. Frowning, he took off, and Tasuki was the only one able to keep pace with him.  
  
"Hold on, Shun!" I'm coming!  
  
Tasuki ran alongside Amiboshi, looking at him curiously. "What the @%#& is your problem? You were content to wait around before!" he called.  
  
Hotohori blinked, and with a sigh, settled down to wait once more. He began to pick more of the taffy out of his hair, even as he watched Mitsukake feeding more jelly beans to Ashitare.  
  
"Um, I would suggest letting Suboshi go," Chiriko said innocently.  
  
"Why's that?" Tomo asked without any real interest.  
  
"Well, unless my ears are wrong, it sounds like Amiboshi is coming- and we all know how protective those two are of each other," Chiriko continued. "Soi-chan? Maybe we should plug our ears in case Amiboshi decides to make Tomo's brain pop?"  
  
Soi nodded her head in agreement. "Hai, that sounds like a good idea, Chiriko-chan." She glanced once more at Tomo and Suboshi, then shook her head. "You're in over your head, Tomo."  
  
Suboshi was turning a bluish color by this time, and once more made a strangled plea for help as he struggled to get away from Tomo.  
  
Then Amiboshi arrived, and with him, a chill even colder then the northern most parts of Hokkan.  
  
"Shun-chan!" he called, and he grabbed the bag that held his flute and growled angrily. "Let him GO!" he said dangerously.  
  
Tomo began to cackle, his amber eyes dancing insanely as he stared at Amiboshi. "Where's Nakago-sama? Tell me and I'll release your twin. Kakakakaka!!"  
  
Tasuki arrived at that point, huffing a little as he blinked at the cackling maniac in front of them. "You're a nutbar, anyone ever tell you that, Tomo?"  
  
"Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't!" Tomo sang cheerfully.   
  
"I'll give a song," AMIBOSHI said threateningly.  
  
"AMIBOSHI!" all the other seishi said, a few plugging their ears.   
  
Tomo opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his hand. "Damn it! You bit me, you little brat!!!" he shrieked, pushing Suboshi away from him hard.  
  
Suboshi stumbled into Amiboshi, but soon straightened up, spitting and wiping at his mouth. "Yeah, well, it's not an experience I soon want to happen again. Bleah, nasty...." he spat, disgust evident on his face.  
  
Tomo was about to start raving nastily, but Nuriko stopped him by tossing him an Almond Joy. "Well, I doubt any of us would argue you're a nut, so why don't you have some and keep quiet? We're going to go looking for the mikos, and if you're lucky, we might run across your Nakago."  
  
"If we're UNLUCKY," Tasuki muttered. "If you don't behave, we'll leave you," Soi threatened.  
  
Tomo started to sulk, but bit into the candy bar. His expression brightened almost immediately.  
  
Hotohori looked back at the painted seishi as he began to hum the Almond Joy theme. "Oh dear...." he sighed.  
  
Nuriko looked at Hotohori, pouting a little because he wanted to be glomped onto the Emperor and he wasn't. "Hotohori-sama...."  
  
Hotohori blinked once and shook his head. "No. No way, no how, uh-uh. You are not latching onto me with a stranglehold again."  
  
Chiriko sighed and bounced over to Soi. Hotohori-sama and Nuriko-san are going to spend the next ten minutes arguing unless you get them moving.  
  
"I'LL get them moving!" Tasuki volunteered, brandishing his tessen.  
  
"Let me! Let me!" Suboshi volunteered.  
  
Hotohori glared regally at them. Well, as regally as he could with taffy in his hair. With a small sniff of displeasure he briskly made his way back to the front of the group, to distance himself from Nuriko.  
  
Nuriko's pout increased, and he promptly latched onto Mitsukake and started bawling. "He doesn't love me. All he ever does is ignore me....why?!" the purple-haired seishi sobbed.  
  
Mitsukake blinked once, then continued to feed jellybeans to Ashitare, letting Nuriko use him as a leaning post.  
  
Soi sighed. "How do you put up with them?" she asked Chiriko.  
  
"How do you put up with THEM?!" Chiriko retorted, pointing at Ashitare, Tomo, and Suboshi, who was clinging to AMIBOSHI.  
  
"They're not all bad," Soi said, then sighed. "Suboshi is actually tolerable if he has his aniki and you don't mention the Y-word."  
  
Chiriko shrugged, blinking at his teammates. "Usually they're not this bad. I dunno what's wrong with Nuriko....he should know that Hotohori-sama isn't in love with him...."  
  
Tasuki began to grumble under his breath as Nuriko continued to cry. "Willya just SHUT UP already?!! I'm sick of your wail..." The bandit never got a chance to finish his sentence. Before he knew what was happening, Nuriko had swung his arm out and bashed him into the wall.  
  
Soi sighed. "Let's get moving," she said, taking charge. The others were all so busy bickering that they would NEVER notice that the mikos still hadn't been recovered. "And I thought OUR infighting was bad...."  
  
Suboshi let go of his beloved twin. "Where's Yui-sama?" he said, and then he was off.  
  
Hotohori rolled his eyes skyward as Suboshi went dashing past him. At this rate, they were never going to find the mikos.  
  
Amiboshi sighed and looked around. "Come on! We can't just let him go off by himself, who knows what kind of trouble he'll get into?" He saw that everyone was looking around, mumbling to themselves, and he could tell they didn't really want to go chasing after Suboshi. "Move it!! Or I'll play my flute!"  
  
That did it. If it had been anyone but Amiboshi who said that, Tasuki would have made a sarcastic comment, but Amiboshi's power was, in a way, the most frightening since you couldn't see it coming and there really was no defense against it except earfuls of cotton. Grumbling, the seishi trotted off after the rather obsessive Suboshi.  
  
"Almond Joy?" Tomo said to Amiboshi, hoping to calm him down a little.  
  
Hotohori continued to pick taffy out of his hair, studiously ignoring the still wailing Nuriko. It wasn't his fault the man was so obsessive that he'd fall in love with him.  
  
Tasuki grumbled a little, looking back at Nuriko, who was attached to Mitsukake's arm still. "Che! Doesn't he ever shut up?! I woulda thought he knew that Hotohori-sama wasn't interested." he mumbled, shaking his head and making sure a wide distance was between him and the purple-haired seishi.  
  
Amiboshi ignored Tomo, wandering a bit in front of the other seishi. "Where did he go? I can't see a thing around here..."  
  
They heard groaning from around the corner. "I bet he has something to do with THAT," Tasuki snickered, then painted an innocent expression on his face. "What?" he said, playing dumb as Amiboshi moved a threatening hand towards his flute.  
  
"Well, we should check it out," Chiriko said, and Soi nodded her agreement. The pair turned around the corner, and they were all surprised to hear Chiriko start shrieking while Soi laughed.  
  
Tasuki figured it couldn't be anything threatening if Chiriko and Soi were laughing at it. Tapping his fingers on his hip, he strode after them, stopping in stunned silence before beginning to laugh as well.  
  
Hotohori frowned, moving after the bandit. When he spotted what the others were laughing at, he blinked in astonishment. "Chi-chiri?" he stammered, surprised at the monk's actions.  
  
Somehow or other, the monk had managed to turn a bunch of crates that had been stacked against the wall into a ski slop. He had fashioned skis out of a bunch of different candy and hooked them to his feet uses licorice whips. Mitsukake and Nuriko turned the corner just in time to watch him sail down the uneven slope, landing in a pile beside a small child.  
  
"MIBOSHI!?" Tomo exclaimed, unable to believe it.  
  
Mitsukake continued to throw jelly beans to Ashitare, as he looked impassively at Chichiri and Miboshi.  
  
Nuriko blinked, putting his hands on his hips. "What a waste of good candy! I can't believe you did that, Chichiri!"  
  
It was all too much for Tasuki, and he fell to the floor laughing like a hyena. He was laughing so hard that tears were beginning to leak out of his eyes. "Too funny! Too @%$#* funny!!" he gasped.  
  
"What's wrong with you. Miboshi?" Soi finally dared asked, ignoring the glares that the usually sweet Chiriko was giving the psycho baby.  
  
"I forgot how much smaller children's stomachs are," he groaned sickly. "I'm going to need to find a new body soon, or else I'll get VERY fat," he said, and then started glancing around before his eyes alighted on Hotohori. "I always wanted to be an Emperor," he mused.   
  
Hotohori's golden eyes blazed at that comment. "Don't even think about it." he growled softly, hand going to the hilt of his sword.  
  
Nuriko heard this and cracked his knuckles. "Even if Hotohori-sama doesn't love me, I will defend him from all evil beings, and that means you!"  
  
Everyone promptly sweatdropped, and turned to look at the cross-dresser. Tasuki snickered softly. "I think Nuriko's been watching too much Sailor Moon."  
  
Chichiri didn't notice and climbed back to the top of his self-made ski slop. "Exactly what gave him that brilliant idea?" Soi wondered, then sniffed the air. "I think I smell.... peppermint."  
  
Hotohori noticed a silver foil wrapper laying on the ground, and bending, he picked it up. Taking a delicate sniff, he held it out to Soi. "I believe you were smelling this...." Now that he thought about it, the ground was littered with similar wrappers.  
  
"York Peppermint Patties," Chiriko read, raising an eyebrow as Chichiri took another life-threatening trip down the make-ship snow. "What *I* Wanna know is how he got snow in here and why it isn't making those weird skis of his melt."  
  
"Magic. What *I* want to know is how you learned to read English, Chiriko-chan," Nuriko said.  
  
Mitsukake watched Chichiri once again make his way down the 'ski slope' while he threw jelly beans to Ashitare. The monk was certainly in his own little world.  
  
Chiriko giggled as he smiled kawaiily up at Nuriko. "That's simple! English is easy to learn when you have as much time as I do on your hands."  
  
"WHAT time?" Nuriko wanted to ask, remembering the chaos since the miko's arrival, but wisely kept his mouth shut for a change. "Someone grab the monk and let's go," he sighed. "Miboshi, much as I'd LOVE to leave you here, I'm afraid we're going to have to take you along as well."  
  
Miboshi looked green as he levitated himself up, and Tasuki almost snickered as he noticed that the psycho child was floating at an angle.  
  
Hotohori rolled his eyes inconspicuously and went over to Chichiri, tapping the blue haired man on the shoulder. "Chichiri-san, come along, we must find our mikos."  
  
Chichiri stopped what he was doing, turning to face Hotohori. "Daaaa....but I'm in first place, no da! I have to be here to accept my medal, na no da!"  
  
"They'll wait for you," Nuriko said reassuringly. "Right now, we have a Suboshi on the loose, two missing seishi and our mikos are Taiitsukun knows where. We had better get moving."  
  
Chichiri pouted in the cute fashion only he could, and the others started to drag him away, though Soi and Tomo were more concerned with making sure Miboshi was ok. The last time he'd been sick, he'd decided the best cure was to possess another body.  
  
Tasuki gave Miboshi another glance, and seeing that glint in the freaky little monk's eyes, edged away from him. Stepping closer to Mitsukake, he frowned. "I don't like the way that freak keeps lookin' at me!" he hissed, watching the big man feed Ashitare more jelly beans.  
  
Amiboshi turned around to look at the group, frowning as he saw how much they were lagging. "Come on! We've got to find my brother!" When no one looked really enthused by that prospect, he raised his flute towards his mouth. "And we have to find him NOW!!!"  
  
Tomo arched a silver eyebrow at Amiboshi's outburst. "We're coming, we're coming. It's not like he's going to go anywhere but to find 'his' Yui-sama." The tall man gagged a little after that.  
  
The group trotted off together, glaring uneasily at each other now and them, though Soi and Chiriko were, by now, so drunk on sugar they were cooing at each other.   
  
"OOOOOOOHHHHHH!" Soi exclaimed giddily as they passed by a particular stack, "Liquor chocolates!"  
  
Hotohori watched in amazement as Soi and Chiriko stopped long enough to grab a few boxes of the chocolates Soi had spotted. //I don't want to know....I really don't want to know...// he thought, feeling rather ill as he watched the two feeding chocolate to one another. //Please don't let that give Nuriko any ideas...//  
  
Tasuki hadn't been paying attention when the two made there discovery, but it was inevitable the bandit would see them. "What's that?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Liquor chocolates!" Chiriko giggled happily, licking Soi's fingers.   
  
The bandits eyes widened. "Hey! Gimme Gimme Gimme!"  
  
Soi glared at him. "No."  
  
Tasuki scowled and pointed at Chiriko. "That isn't kid's food!"  
  
Chiriko blinked once, then began to laugh. "That's why YOU aren't getting any of it!!"  
  
Soi chuckled softly at that, and leaned down to kiss Chiriko's cheek before feeding him yet another chocolate.  
  
Tomo rolled his eyes, and deciding that he couldn't handle all that mush anymore, moved up front. He found himself next to Nuriko, and for several long moments, stared at the other man.  
  
"You're very pretty," he said after a moment, looking over the slender male with interest.  
  
"I'm Hotohori-sama's!" Nuriko immediately answered, latching onto the Emperor with all of his considerable strength.  
  
Hotohori was just about to rebut when the group was stopped a curious noise. Ker-pleuy! Plonk....  
  
Amiboshi looked towards the area the noise had to have come from, and then dashed towards it. "Maybe it's Shun-chan!" he called back over his shoulder.  
  
Hotohori didn't even really notice what was going on around him, he was too busy trying to pry Nuriko's fingers off of him. Finally, he decided there was only one way that Nuriko would let go of him. "Nuriko...I can't breathe..."  
  
Tasuki continued to pout as he watched Soi and Chiriko feeding each other the liquor chocolates. He could smell how great they must be, and his mouth watered. //Wait a second! I'm a bandit...bandit chief, actually...I shouldn't be asking for them to give me the chocolates...I should just TAKE them! Yeah!// The red-head started to laugh maniacally.  
  
Mitsukake looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and Nuriko and Hotohori paused in their struggle with their affections (or lack there of) to stare at the bandit who seemed to have just lost what little bit of his mind he had remaining.  
  
"Um, Tasuki?" Chichiri asked cautiously, sensing the tense atmosphere. There was no way he wanted to accept his medal with such bad karma in the air.  
  
Tasuki turned to look at Chichiri, a wide grin on his face. "Yessss?" he replied, his fangs showing. He rubbed his hands together in delight at the thought of getting a hold of the chocolates. After watching Tasuki for a few more seconds, Hotohori went back to trying to pry Nuriko off of him.  
  
Soi and Chiriko had paused when Tasuki had started laughing, then shrugged and went back to what they were doing....getting drunk off of the chocolates.  
  
Tasuki decided it was time to make his move. Whipping out his tessen, he aimed it at Soi. "Alright, lady, hand over the chocolates!"  
  
"She's no lady," Tomo snickered.  
  
Soi barely spared him a glance, raising her fist upwards and summoning her lightning.  
  
One fried bandit later.....  
  
Ker-plunk.....  
  
"What IS that?" Nuriko wondered.   
  
Hotohori shrugged as best as he could. "Who knows." he muttered softly. "Now will you please let go of me?"  
  
Chichiri looked around, wondering when he would get to accept his medal. "Hey, no da...where is Amiboshi? He should be here to see me win my medal, na no da..."  
  
"We're checking out that sound," Hotohori said. "Perhaps it's Suboshi."  
  
"No, that isn't Suboshi," Tasuki said with an evilly grin, though he was still slightly charred. "Suboshi is YUIIIIIIII-SAAAAAMMMMMMAAAAAA!"  
  
"Saa," Nuriko said, laughing a little.  
  
Chiriko and Soi followed the Emperor and his unwanted escort, staggering slightly. The little boy's cheeks were flushed, and it was obvious that the alcohol had hit him. Tomo and Miboshi floated behind, with Tasuki, Mitsukake, Amiboshi and Ashitare bringing up the end of the long procession.  
  
Tasuki was mumbling under his breath about the waste of good alcohol on Chiriko and flashing dirty glares at Soi.  
  
Hotohori had long since given up on trying to pry Nuriko off of him, and finally accepted that he'd have to put up with his arm going permanently numb.  
  
Amiboshi, who was impatient to find his twin, looked around him, frowning at the slow pace of the group.   
  
"Pootoey! Beat that, you Seiryuu bastard!"  
  
The others looked up in amazement. "That's Tamahome!" Nuriko said.  
  
"Seiryuu bastard?" Tomo said. "That means Tamahome caught up with Suboshi...."  
  
The group finished the thought on their own. Everyone started to run towards where Tamahome's voice had come from.  
  
Amiboshi burst into the room where Tamahome's voice had come from, yelling "Shun-chan!!!" at the top of his lungs, only to pause as a pair of bright blue eyes and a pair of blue-gray eyes turned his way. "Uh...um...Nakago...." he stammered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "You haven't seen Suboshi around here...have you?"  
  
Hotohori found himself being pulled along by Nuriko, and thought to himself that it wasn't very dignified. //I'm sure my hair is messed up beyond repair! Only a nice, long bath is going to cure this...//  
  
"He's right there," Tamahome said, pointing at Suboshi. "We needed a judge."   
  
A very unhappy Suboshi had been tied to a crate via one of Nakago's chi spells. He looked up at them. "Aniki!" he said.  
  
Tasuki's eyes narrowed. "Something is wrong here! Nakago and Tamahome aren't trying to kill each other?"  
  
Nakago tossed his hair back over his shoulder. "We decided to settle our differences in a more civilized fashion," he said. He stuck a peanut in his mouth and spat it out, projecting it as far as he could.  
  
"A Peanut shooting contest!" Tamahome declared gleefully.  
  
Nuriko blinked. "This just got WAYYYYYY to weird for me," he said.  
  
Soi just stood there, blinking at Nakago in shock as she held onto Chiriko. //Nakago-sama spitting peanuts in a contest against Tamahome? What in the world is going on here?//  
  
Tomo pushed his way past Soi, a sneer curling his lips. "Outta my way, woman. I've got to cheer for Nakago-sama." Standing on the side, the silver-haired seishi immediately set about cheering on the man he loved.  
  
Tasuki watched this and gagged, a disgusted expression on his face. "He's worse than OUR fruitcake over here!" he grumbled, jerking a thumb in Nuriko's direction.  
  
"I thought you were suppose to shoot watermelon seeds?" An inebriated Chiriko said.  
  
"Da... apparently you can use peanuts as well," Chichiri said, looking down at the boy's flushed face.  
  
Mitsukake just shoved more jellybeans at Ashitare, who hadn't gotten tired of them yet.  
  
Nakago glared at Tomo, his blue eyes intense. "Shut up, Tomo. You're breaking my concentration." he growled, before turning to spit another peanut.  
  
Chiriko snuggled up against Soi's side again, the alcohol making him feel a bit dizzy and tired. He smiled up at the woman, before shutting his eyes for a little while.  
  
Hotohori was hoping that if Nuriko's attention was focused enough on the competition between Tamahome and Nakago, he might let go of his arm. The numb feeling was driving him insane.  
  
Amiboshi was on the verge of having an apoplexy. He was tired, annoyed, his brother was tied up in a rather painful way (which he could feel through their thrice-cursed bond), and they still were stuck in a strange place. A vein in his forehead started to twitch, and then it happened.  
  
Amiboshi lost his temper.  
  
Everyone turned to look at the blonde haired boy as he lost it. The Seiryuu seishi were quite shocked about it. Amiboshi had been the quiet one of the bunch, and no one had ever seen him lose his temper before. The Suzaku seishi just kind of stood there and blinked at him, unsure of what to do.  
  
"THAT'S IT! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS CRAZINESS!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Nakago, release Suboshi AT ONCE. Mitsukake, see if there's something you can do to sober those two-" and he pointed at Chiriko and Soi, "-up. Tomo, keep Ashitare busy. We're going to go find the mikos, and then we're going to get out of here. IS THAT CLEAR?" He raised his flute threateningly to his lips.  
  
Surprisingly, everyone started to do what Amiboshi had ordered, even Nakago. They were all still stunned by his display of temper.  
  
Suboshi, on the other hand, was beaming at his twin. "Aniki! I knew you would rescue me!"  
  
Amiboshi gave him a death glare. "Do. Not. Talk. To. Me," he said, and Suboshi's face fell.  
  
Once everyone had completed the tasks that Amiboshi had told them to do, they all looked at him again. Suboshi stood and stretched, then yelled at the top of his lungs, "YUUUUUUUIIIII-SAAAAAAAMMMMMAAAA!!!!" as he prepared to take off running again.  
  
Six seishi dive-tackled him. Soi removed his yo yos and used them to tie him up with. Wordlessly she hand it to Amiboshi, who started to walk off in the opposite direction they came in.   
  
"Geez, how big IS this place?" Tasuki wondered.  
  
"Who knows? Hopefully after we find the mikos, we can figure a way out of here..." Hotohori sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had a supreme headache now, and would love nothing more than to just collapse into bed and sleep for a very long time.  
  
Even though his twin was pulling him along behind him, Suboshi was still yelling for his Yui-sama. Tomo growled and glared over at him. "Will you shut him up?!" he screamed at Amiboshi finally.  
  
"If you carry him," he snapped.  
  
A voice yelled from the darkness ahead. "SUBOSHI?!?!" It sounded astonished.  
  
"YUUUUUUUUUIIIIIII-SAAAAAMMMMMAAA!!!" came the answering scream from Suboshi. He immediately began to struggle to get away from Amiboshi so that he could go and find his beloved miko. "I'm coming Yui-sama!!!"  
  
Tomo glared at Amiboshi, snorted, and tossed his hair before turning away from the twins.  
The seishi picked up their pace, and soon came to a small, dimly-lit area. Yui was sitting on the floor, looking at Miaka, whose face was smudged with chocolate. Both of the girls were calmly munching away at Hershey's bars. "Hi, Suboshi!" Yui said chipperly.  
  
Everyone face-faulted.  
  
"Yui-sama!" Suboshi cried ecstatically, and pulling away from his twin, ran over to glomp his miko. "Are you alright? You're not hurt or anything are you?"  
  
Tamahome immediately rushed over to Miaka, taking her hands and starting the litany that made everyone yearn to smack them both.  
  
"Miaka..."  
  
"Tamahome...."  
  
"Miaka."  
  
"Tamahome."  
  
Yui surprised everyone by leaning forward and planting a kiss on Suboshi's cheek. "You were worried about me? That's so sweet." She smiled at him, and he dissolved into one big pile of goo.  
  
"This is so weird," Nuriko murmured. "Catch me, heika-sama, I'm going to faint."  
  
Hotohori blinked at Nuriko, arching his eyebrow. "I don't think so, Nuriko." he mumbled, still trying to get feeling back into his arm. He rolled his eyes at Miaka and Tamahome's endless droning. That was all they would do if left alone.  
  
Tasuki scowled at the two girls sitting on the floor in front of them. "Do you know how much trouble we've been through just lookin' for th' two of ya?!"  
  
They blinked at him, Miaka breaking eye contact with Tamahome long enough to say, "Well, Yui and I had a chance to talk, and everything is ok! We're friends again!"  
  
"Besides," Yui filled in, "everything in the world looks better when you have chocolate." She playfully fed Suboshi a piece. He looked like he had died and gone to heaven.  
  
"I just remembered," Mitsukake said, as he looked at Yui and Suboshi, Soi and Chiriko, and Tamahome and Miaka, "that chocolate is said to be an aphrodisiac."  
  
Hotohori winced at the predatory look Nuriko gave him after hearing Mitsukake's announcement. "Now I'm glad I stuck to other candy instead of chocolate..." he mumbled.  
  
Tomo looked around, his hands on his hips. Nakago was still ignoring him, and Soi was still latched onto Chiriko, and vice versa. "Well, what are we supposed to do now? We have everyone here...but we still don't know the way out."  
  
"I know!" Miaka said. "Remember the Wizard of Oz, Yui-chan?" she asked.  
  
Yui rolled her eyes. "Only you would think that would work," Yui said.  
  
"It can't hurt to TRY," Miaka insisted.  
  
"Try what?" Nuriko asked curiously, turning his eyes from Hotohori for a moment. His mind was filled with all sorts of wicked ideas for when he got Hotohori plied with plenty of chocolate.  
  
Hotohori, meanwhile, was studiously ignoring Nuriko's glances. He chose to remain focused on his hair, sensing that it was the best thing to do in this case.  
  
Yui sighed and got to her feet, unwrapping Suboshi from her waist. "Later, dear," she said patiently.  
  
Miaka stood up as well, and Yui looked at her. "I feel stupid," the blonde muttered.  
  
"Ok, everyone!" Miaka chirped. "Click your heels and say 'There's no place like home' three times!"  
  
"This is insane!" Tasuki grumbled, taking up a position near Mitsukake.  
  
Hotohori looked vaguely amused, as if thinking that this would never work, while Nuriko pondered glomping back onto Hotohori's arm.  
  
Chiriko still held onto Soi's hand as they stood near the mikos.  
  
Yui looked around and sighed a bit. "Alright minna, on the count of 3. 1....2....3!"  
  
They all stood together and started to click their heels, muttering, "'There's no place like home." Ashitare somehow managed to stumble through the process, and Miboshi looked thoroughly unamused.  
  
Tomo rolled his eyes skyward. "There's no place like home..." //This isn't working....I wonder if I could glomp Nakago....after all, the Suzaku's cross-dresser is glomped onto their Emperor!//  
  
Hotohori felt very stupid doing this, but to keep Miaka happy, he continued to follow their lead.  
  
On the third repetition, there was a bright flare of light, then the warehouse was empty.  
  
  
~~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Hotohori sat up in bed. "What a nightmare!" he said, gasping for breath.  
  
Nuriko opened his eyes, and turned his head, a startled exclamation of joy erupting from his mouth as he spotted Hotohori next to him. "Heika-sama!!!!" he trilled gleefully.  
  
"AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" came the loud scream echoing through the air.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~  
  
  
  
  
Chiriko opened his eyes, surprised to feel the gentle breathing of someone beside him. Smiling slightly, he reached out a hand, sure that it was his mother or Mitsukake. That had been one bizarre dream. Him and a woman six years older?  
  
Soi's eyes opened at the gentle touch on her arm, and she turned her head, blinking in surprise. "Chiriko?! It...wasn't a dream?" she stammered, sitting up. Her long hair fell down her back, the clip lost somewhere in the sheets.  
  
"I guess not," he said.  
  
She looked at him, smiling slightly. "Doesn't Subaru have the power to age people?" she asked.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~  
  
  
  
  
Mitsukake sat up with a yawn, stretching before he decided to open his eyes. He was startled to hear Tama-neko yowling loudly from the other room. Standing, he headed in that direction, not expecting to find what he did.  
  
Beside the cat was the wolf-man Ashitare. Ashitare was glaring at the cat jealously. Mitsukake felt his pockets and was surprised that he still had a large bad of jelly beans in it.  
  
"Well," he mused to himself, "looks like I got a new pet.... I just wonder what I should do when I run out of jelly beans."  
  
  
  
  
~~~~  
  
  
  
  
Nakago woke, his eyes narrowing as he came face to face with the sleeping Tomo. He roughly shook the other man, scowling. "Just ~what~ do you think you are doing, Tomo?" he growled.  
  
Tomo opened his eyes to sheer bliss. "Nakago-sama!" he said, pushing the other man down onto the bed.  
  
Nakago barely managed an eep of horror before Tomo gave him the lip lock of his life.  
  
  
  
  
~~~~  
  
  
  
  
Miaka and Tamahome sat in the dining room, where she was stuffing her face. When her mouth wasn't full, a litany of "Tamahome" "Miaka" filled the air.  
  
  
  
  
~~~~  
  
  
  
  
Suboshi opened his eyes, blinking as he felt arms wrapped around his waist. Looking down, he saw the blonde hair and figured his aniki had just grabbed a hold of him during the night. It wasn't until he shifted that he realized it was most definitely NOT his brother. "Yui-sama!" he gasped, his eyes going wide.  
  
She mumbled sleepily. "Go back to sleep, Suboshi," she said, snuggling closer.  
  
  
~~~~  
  
  
  
  
Amiboshi rolled over, opened his eyes, and smiled a little at the peace in quiet in his room before snuggling back down into the pillows and going back to sleep.  
  
  
  
~~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chichiri looked over at the floating priest. "Looks like you're the only one who gets to see my medal, no da!" he said, conjuring a huge gold medal and silver ribbon.  
  
Miboshi glanced at Chichiri, frowning at the monk. "Why am I stuck here with you? And do you have any more candy on you? I'm hungry," he muttered  
  
  
  
  
~~~~  
  
  
Up in the Heavens, two of the Gods were laughing, and two others were sulking.  
  
Taiitsukun shook her head a little, and laughed softly as she watched the end of the seishi's little adventure play out in her mirror.  
  
"Taiitsukun's scary when she laughs!" piped up a little Nyan-Nyan, appearing out of nowhere. Several seconds later, she was flying through the air.  
  
Suzaku looked at Taiitsukun, a pout on his beautiful features. "MUST you have so much fun at my expense?" he demanded.   
  
"YEAH!" Seiryuu agreed.  
  
Byakko and Genbu fell onto the floor, unable to restrain their laughter any longer.  
  
Taiitsukun smiled again, transforming into her real state, that of a bishounen young man. "It's too fun teasing you, my children." he grinned, laughing softly. "And it's fun teasing your seishi as well."  
  
Seiryuu and Suzaku, for once in complete agreement, starting bellowing and screaming like three year olds.  
  
Taiitsukun rolled his eyes, and folded his arms across his chest. "Honestly, grow up you two. It's not as if you had never teased anyone else."  
  
The two Gods looked at each other. "Soi and CHIRIKO?" Suzaku said in horror. "You're TWISTED!"  
  
Taiitsukun sighed, his hands on his hips as he looked at the two in front of him. "They'll be good for each other. Soi needed to get away from that twit Nakago....and Chiriko needed some time away from his books."  
  
"How can you turn Ashitare into a common PET?!?!" Seiryuu demanded, his flashed flushed.   
  
Byakko snickered.  
  
"It's giving him more attention than Nakago ever gave him, right? Mitsukake will take good care of him....he just has to watch out for the cat, he can be vicious if crossed." Taiitsukun replied levelly.  
  
Genbu laughed. "Just be glad Taiitsukun didn't give him to the Nyan Nyans!"  
  
A few Nyan-Nyans popped up at the mention of their name. "Nasou Nasou?" one inquired solicitously of Genbu. The others, spotting Seiryuu's red face, bounced around him, chanting "Heal heal, Fix fix!!"  
  
Seiryuu screamed in terror.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Tasuki looked around, scratching his head. "Hey! Where did everyone go? Come on! This isn't funny!! Minna!" he called, wandering around the room.  
  
"Che," he muttered, sinking down onto an empty crate. Soi and Chiriko had dropped the liquor chocolates when they disappeared, so he picked up the half-empty box and sunk his fangs into them. "This is so not fair. Least I got the chocolate," he murmured.   
  
  
  
  
THE END  
  
  
  
Now, that wasn't that scary, was it? Aside from- well, nevermind. Be good and give us a review... 


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